Ripping DVDs (for personal use)

[Mario]

I’ve just discovered that Microsoft OneDrive can indeed play DVDs which are uploaded to it. First though, the DVDs have to be ripped, otherwise OneDrive will not play them.

A quick search seems to conclude that WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is about the best there is, and which also seems to be their top-of-the-range model. The Ultimate license for this costs US$ 55.95, which allows Free Lifetime Upgrade Service.

Do posters here know of this product or any superior ones? To be able to see my favourite films on my iPad while travelling would be very useful. Since I already pay for OneDrive, I don’t really want to complicate my life with Apple iCloud+.

Any helpful notes really would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mario

[Bryn]

I’ve just discovered that Microsoft OneDrive can indeed play DVDs which are uploaded to it. First though, the DVDs have to be ripped, otherwise OneDrive will not play them.

A quick search seems to conclude that WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is about the best there is, and which also seems to be their top-of-the-range model. The Ultimate license for this costs US$ 55.95, which allows Free Lifetime Upgrade Service.

Do posters here know of this product or any superior ones? To be able to see my favourite films on my iPad while travelling would be very useful. Since I already pay for OneDrive, I don’t really want to complicate my life with Apple iCloud+.

Any helpful notes really would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mario

I use "DVD Shrink", which, when I got it, many years ago, was freeware. There has been an attempt, through the US legal system, to ban it, but the ruling only banned its sale, not its availability or use. That's how its author came to make it freeware. It works fine for me. I also use Audio DVD Creator (now, I think, controlled by a rather supect-looking Chinese company called DVDFab.

[Dave2002]

To be able to see my favourite films on my iPad while travelling would be very useful. Since I already pay for OneDrive, I don’t really want to complicate my life with Apple iCloud+.

That's an interesting comment. Apple enthusiasts would no doubt say that using iCloud would make your life simpler. I am reasonably enthusiastic about some of the things that Apple does, but I try to avoid any third party cloud storage like bubonic plague. I don't see Apple's cloud offering being more trustworthy than any others, and I try to make sure that it does not activate on my machines. However, I'm not sure that I always succeed.

[hmvman]

I've been using Wondershare Uniconverter for some years for converting video formats and also ripping DVDs:

https://videoconverter.wondershare.net

It's more expensive than the WinX product as it's a suite of various video and audio tools but I've found it to be very good for carrying out the various tasks I require.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Isn’t this thread a way to encourage people to break the law?

[Dave2002]

Isn’t this thread a way to encourage people to break the law?

Just like car manufacturers making cars which will go up to (at least) 140mph and selling them in the UK.

[Mario]

Some really useful comments here, so many thanks to all.

I must however respond to EA’s comment.

No, I can confirm quite categorically that I have absolutely no desire to fly over and visit long-term one of Her Majesty’s prisons. Furthermore, I believe I’m doing nothing wrong.

Since I’ve purchased Bernstein’s Fidelio DVD, why can I not use any electronic or technological means I can, to see it wherever I can? I bought the DVD, I bought the iPad and I certainly bought the plane ticket to watch the DVD on my way to Vienna to see Fidelio being performed, having bought both the plane ticket and my seat ticket as well. I fail to see where I’m breaking the law. Oh, and I will also buy one of the DVD Rippers mentioned above.

No one, but no one, to my knowledge is losing out.

SHARING my DVD is a different matter entirely, which I have no intention of doing.

To Dave2002, I maybe didn’t make myself clear. All I meant is that I don’t want to spend my retirement curating, filing, sifting and selecting tracks on CDs and DVDs on multiple formats. Since I’ve paid for OneDrive, which I’ve been using for years and find it very useful (if only MS would bring out a decent player for it that fills the gaps between tracks particularly in operas), I didn’t want to start using and PAYING for Apple iCloud if OneDrive can do the job. Hence my question regarding good, worthwhile, and LEGAL DVD Rippers.

I’m looking into hmvman’s suggestion of Wondershare for which I’m grateful.

Mario

[kernelbogey]

Isn’t this thread a way to encourage people to break the law?

...or deprive artists of income!

Glad to read the OP's assertion, but 'ripping' has an uncomfortable implication in my ears.

I once lent a CD to a friend who made a copy for himself without asking me, and I made my feelings clear. I won't ever lend a CD in future without a specific caveat about copying.

Thanks, Auferstehen, for clarification.

[Mario]

Thanks, Auferstehen, for clarification.

I mean every word that I said.

However, I'm beginning to regret having sought advice now.

Sorry to sound a tad defeatist, but we're living in a truly miserable world right now. Each day as I read the news updates, I become more and more miserable. I don't want to fight anymore, nor do I want any stress in the short time I may have left.

All I seek is a simple, and repeating it ad nauseam, legal way of enjoying my music wherever I am.

Best wishes,

Mario

[Mario]

Actually EA, if you feel it better to close this thread, I would agree to that.

Mario

[Bryn]

...or deprive artists of income!

Glad to read the OP's assertion, but 'ripping' has an uncomfortable implication in my ears.

I once lent a CD to a friend who made a copy for himself without asking me, and I made my feelings clear. I won't ever lend a CD in future without a specific caveat about copying.

Thanks, Auferstehen, for clarification.

U.K. law, here, is an ass. In most jurisdictions, an exemption is made for the private use of those who have purchased a recording. In the U.K., it is technically unlwaufull to backup a recording one has purchased unless permission is specifically granted by the copyright holder. So woe betide all who have backed up commercial recordings to other playback devices. As mentioned earlier, in the United States of America, the legality of DVD Shrink was tested in court with the outcome that selling the software was unlawful but making it available free of charge was not. In practice, ripping for gain is rightly illegal but backing up or extracting audio for the personal use of a recording one has purchased is unlikely to result in prosecution. Many (most?) DVDs ad Blu-rays are encoded with regional protection Playback devices are often sold openly with circuitry incorporated which circumvents such regional protection. I seem to recall that, back in the days of 'home taping', it was found that far from diminishing the sales of legitimate recordings, the practice ended up increasing those sales.

[richardfinegold]

U.K. law, here, is an ass. In most jurisdictions, an exemption is made for the private use of those who have purchased a recording. In the U.K., it is technically unlwaufull to backup a recording one has purchased unless permission is specifically granted by the copyright holder. So woe betide all who have backed up commercial recordings to other playback devices. As mentioned earlier, in the United States of America, the legality of DVD Shrink was tested in court with the outcome that selling the software was unlawful but making it available free of charge was not. In practice, ripping for gain is rightly illegal but backing up or extracting audio for the personal use of a recording one has purchased is unlikely to result in prosecution. Many (most?) DVDs ad Blu-rays are encoded with regional protection Playback devices are often sold openly with circuitry incorporated which circumvents such regional protection. I seem to recall that, back in the days of 'home taping', it was found that far from diminishing the sales of legitimate recordings, the practice ended up increasing those sales.

I was about to chime in here about U.S. Law but Bryn covered it above. And Mario, this is an old topic on the Forum that comes up with regularity. Some one queries as how to make a copy of something for personal use, and our otherwise much esteemed EA will chime in that this is illegal under U.K. Law.
Denying someone the right to copy music that they have purchased legally and wish to store in more than one location sounds so absurd from an American Perspective that it took a few of these dustups here to make realize that the U.K. Law was different as well as the perspective of many on that side of the pond.
The great harm in this copying of music is of course the mass distribution of illegal (cassettes, CDRs, DVDs, computer files-the media changes with time but the concept doesn’t) copies rips off the Artists. Illegal file sharing caused CD sales to plummet and almost torpedoed the record business 20 years ago. However, as was pointed out recently here, due to the same companies learning how to maximize revenue from streaming, the recording companies made the most money they have ever made in the last few years, up to $20 billion. Now, how they distribute that revenue amongst management vs Artists is a story for another time, but rest assured, EA, they are now raking it in. I don’t think their existence is existentially threatened by someone wanting to copy an Opera recording they have purchased to be enjoyed as they travel.
I am also interested in this topic of ripping DVDs. I subscribe to Pristine Audios streaming service and also purchased their catalog on a HD. As part of this I get regular updates from PA with new releases on DVD. Andrew Rose the PA honcho openly gives permission to make as many copies as one wants, but my Optical reader can’t rip from DVDs.
Can we just agree that the Forumites here are not Criminal Masterminds out to bankrupt Artists, but rather a bunch of law abiding music lovers with varying degrees of technical ability that occasionally would like to query others for some help, without the risk of being labeled the second coming of Al Capone?

[Dave2002]

I was about to chime in here about U.S. Law but Bryn covered it above. And Mario, this is an old topic on the Forum that comes up with regularity. Some one queries as how to make a copy of something for personal use, and our otherwise much esteemed EA will chime in that this is illegal under U.K. Law.

I'm not sure where Mario is - and he's perfectly entitled to keep this to himself. The situation in the EU may be different from the UK.

Regarding some copying, the UK did come into line with the US briefly, but then somebody or some organisation sought to challenge that, so copying went from being illegal, to being legal, and then back to being illegal again. That then presented another quesion "was it OK to keep the copies made when it was legal?". [I'm not answering that!]

Another factor is the particular market segment. The rules for music, photos, films, dvds and games may all be different. In some segments even giving copies away, or posting links to where copies may be found is illegal. One person in the UK was fined or made to pay damages for making copies of computer games freely available - and at no immediate benefit to herself.

In many cases - as Bryn suggests - the law is indeed "a ass".

https://lawi.org.uk/the-law-is-a-ass/

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-law-is-an-ass.html

[Mario]

Dave2002, I was born, and live, in Malta with my British wife. Yesterday was the General Election.

https://www.timesofmalta.com

I am no legal expert, but to my knowledge, no law here, which like many, many, many other things, reflects the state of play in the UK (which is, I assure you, a good thing), precludes us from copying CD/DVDs for our own use when on holiday.

FWIW, I thought rfg’s post, nailed it on the head.

Mario

[Dave2002]

Mario

I wouldn't worry about it then - it almost certainly does not apply to you.

Over here in the UK there are so many laws which are deliberately broken by many, and accidentally by quite a large number.
"Everyone" knows that it is OK to drive at over 80 mph on a UK motorway, or at 70 mph on regular roads!
[Actually it is not - and the general speed limit is actually 60 mph - except on motorways and some dual carriageways, or lower where specifically marked.]

It's not whether things are "legal" or not to most people, but rather "will they get caught?". There are many people who even complain when they are caught.

A lot of laws kind of work, because "most" people "more or less" follow the rules. The "more or less" nature of rule observance often means within perhaps 10% of the maximum permitted.
There are various reasons for this - one being that the police and other enforcement authorities don't have the manpower to enforce stricter observance, and another being that there is also opposition to the use of equipment and methods which are automated. Hence in some areas speed cameras have been systematically and consistently vandalised and made inoperative.

Social acceptance is another factor. Driving while under the influence of alcohol has been illegal for a long while, but whereas it used to be the case that many thought that they were "clever" by getting away with it, now more people (IMO) do recognise the dangers and are more responsible.